Barack Usain O'Bolt

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But I stand before you tonight because all across America something is stirring. What the naysayers don't understand is that this election has never been about me. It's been about you......
/.....You have shown what history teaches us -- that at defining moments like this one, the change we need doesn't come from Washington. Change comes to Washington. Change happens because the American people demand it -- because they rise up and insist on new ideas and new leadership, a new politics for a new time.


Any questions?

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An absolute must-read....

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d r i f t g l a s s has produced another masterpiece titled The Negrological Constant.

Take the time to read it.

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Still freaking brilliant

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I'm paraphrasing somewhat here, as I just heard it and was a bit distracted when he said it.....I'm sure it will be all over youtube by tomorrow AM....

"We cannot be strong overseas unless we are strong here at home....People will be impressed more by the power of our example than by an example of our power"

----Bill freakin Clinton.

Oh, and it's getting better as I type....dude can freakin make a case...

Update: Here's the actual quote from the text of his speech posted on HuffPo...

"Most important, Barack Obama knows that America cannot be strong abroad unless we are strong at home. People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power."

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Church and State

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My only opinion on the Rick Warren Church debate/interrogation/evaluation/whatever of McCain and Obama is that the entire exercise sickened me. Could we, as a nation, bend over any more to appease and encourage manipulative religious wingnut wackaloon fundies who want to make the USA a Christian state? As an aside, I did find it amusing (and totally unsurprising) that the 'moral party' candidate cheated by not staying in his 'cone of silence'. But anyway.

I'm impressed that at least one mainstream-media-person had the guts to write the truth about it (h/t Onegoodmove). Here's Kathleen Parker in the Washington Post:

At the risk of heresy, let it be said that setting up the two presidential candidates for religious interrogation by an evangelical minister -- no matter how beloved -- is supremely wrong.

It is also un-American.
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The winner, of course, was Warren, who has managed to position himself as political arbiter in a nation founded on the separation of church and state.

The loser was America.

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This is about higher principles that are compromised every time we pretend we're not applying a religious test when we're really applying a religious test.

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Thank you Kathleen Parker.

Entire article here.

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Sheer Willpower

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I'm a bit late on this one but.....
Jason Lezak, goes from here









to here

















Then, Michael Phelps, from seventh place at the turn (halfway through a sprint!) claws his way to here












.....to here....










....to full of WIN!















Awesome athlete that he is, and handsome enough lad that he is, I think some may argue that Michael's ears are a touch big, his teeth a touch crooked.....and so I feel badly for the Chinese authorities. I mean, did the Chinese govt exploit and incarcerate tens of thousands of its citizens to host an Olympics where the iconic athlete is less than "flawless in image, internal feeling and expression"?

No, they deserve better. So, I altered Michael's image a bit to fit these games.....












And I urge everyone, everywhere, to alter their images thusly. Gentlemen, we can rebuild these pictures. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world's first flawless athlete. We owe it to China. So get to it.
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Gitmo on the Platte!

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I think no further comment is necessary.

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Way to go, China!

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Apparently, the opening ceremonies featured a memorable solo sung by a nine year old girl, Lin Miaoke, in front of an estimated audience of a billion people. Good for her.

One small problem though--- The NYTimes reports that her voice was dubbed and the voice used was actually one of a seven year old girl, Yang Peiyi.

Here’s a picture of the two girls from the article with seven year old Yang Peiyi on the left and nine year old Lin Miaoke on the right:

And here’s the money quote from the article:

“The reason was for the national interest,” explained Chen Qigang, general music designer of the opening ceremonies, who revealed the deception during a Sunday radio interview. “The child on camera should be flawless in image, internal feeling and expression.”

I’m trying to figure out why Lin Miaoke is flawless. More importantly, I’m trying to figure out why Yang Peiyi is not.

I imagine this conversation in Yang Peiyi’s home:

YP: Mom, if my singing was the best, why didn’t they let me perform in front of the world?

Mom: Because you don’t look good enough, precious.

And this conversation in Lin Miaoke’s home:

LM: Mom, if they wanted me to sing in front of the world, why did they use another girl’s voice?

Mom: Because she sings better than you. But you look flawless, sweetie, and that’s the important thing!

Lesson learned by both girls, I guess.

Way to emotionally scar two beautiful young girls (and who knows how many more when this story got out) so that you could put up a good show, China.

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About McCain's stupid ad....

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This article in the LA Times (about reaction to McCain's ad comparing Obama to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears) had a couple of things that made me laugh out loud.

Here's the first one:

"Just for a start, industry types say the ad is wrong: In the Hollywood lexicon, Obama is not a celebrity. He's a rock star. (Note to McCain strategists: That's the difference between Jessica Simpson and Bono.)"

Oh SNAP! Hey McLame, that's what you get for trying to out-"shallow and pedantic" Hollywood!

And the second one is just a fucking GEM:

"Then there's the small inconvenience that Paris' parents, Rick and Kathleen Hilton, are supporters of McCain's Republican presidential bid. According to federal campaign records, they gave the maximum $4,600."

I almost feel bad for the Hiltons. It must be bad enough to know that your offspring is a vacuous slut, but it has got to be PAINFUL to have a presidential candidate, esp. one that you have donated the maximum allowable amount to, make her the poster-child for vacuous slut-itude in a nationwide ad campaign. I guess another Oh SNAP! is in order.

Finally, the LA Times administers a little spank to Hollywood itself, in the last line of this little bit (emphasis mine):

"Celebrities are coming onboard because they're excited about Obama, like the rest of America," said Hollywood publicist Howard Bragman. "It's not because he's pandering to them." Bragman called the McCain ad "inauthentic."
"Anyone who knows and listens to Barack Obama doesn't think he's empty-headed," said Bragman, who has known more than his share of vacant skulls. "All this feels very Roveian to me."

I found it all to be quite entertaining, and thought I should share. Enjoy!
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